Enhancing skills as a ‘change consultant’ in organisational, cross-organisational and system change work
spotlight on good practice: A Trust’s commitment to improving staff engagement and Staff Survey scores
Bringing the Vision to Life The organisation created a bespoke staff engagement plan, separate from but linked to their overall people strategy, with 29 specific actions, including actions for board level leaders, all based on good practice and feedback from staff. Their actions covered a range of activities, and they recognised the importance of engaging and developing leaders. The Foundation Trust created a leadership forum, which was open to anyone who had line management in their remit, up to Band 7. They also created a separate senior leadership forum for those at Band 8A and above, recognising the different influence this group have and their involvement in more strategic issues and in leading change. The leaders of the Board, Executives and Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) committed to being more visible and undertook several visits and walk-arounds over the year, talking to staff about what could make their working lives better. Where issues were raised, they committed to addressing these as soon as possible. They worked with their communication team to make sure that changes and new initiatives that had been suggested by staff were communicated back through a “You Said, Together We Did” approach. For the launch of the 2023 Staff Survey they created a ‘road map’ poster which promoted various changes that had happened as a result of staff feedback in the year prior to the launch.
The Impact of Innovation Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust saw significant improvement with their overall staff engagement score, from 6.96 to 7.18 , and the proportion of respondents who would recommend the organisation as a place to work increased from 56% to 63.9% . The Trust also saw an overall improvement in their staff survey response rate which improved from 47% in 2022 to 60% in 2023 . Additionally, the organisation had a Care Quality Commission inspection from July to September 2023 and were awarded a Good rating overall with areas of Outstanding , which was a significant improvement from their previous rating. Key Learning 1. You can’t do everything, so decide what will make the biggest impact What are your people saying is needed the most? Look at your Staff Survey data and triangulate with other sources of information, both qualitative and quantitative. 2. Focus on overall staff engagement as part of your key people performance indicators Research suggests this is integral to overall performance and patient care. 3. Get active commitment and engagement from all levels of the organisation This needs commitment from the Board right through to the frontline. Senior leaders need to commit to role modelling and being visible.
The Trust‘s Vision for Staff Engagement Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust wanted to improve their staff experience, in particular the overall Staff Engagement Score and the number of people who would recommend the organisation as a place to work. Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust provides community health care services in Wirral and the wider North West of England.
Consulting Mindset and Skillset: Build your skills, capability and confidence to be an effective systems change consultant in and across organisations and systems. Self as Courageous Role Model: Enhancing and extending your practical strategies to care for and challenge yourself during change and transformation, so you can be a role model for others and “be the system change”. During the programme 4 small groups of system leaders will experiment with how they could use their power and influence in new ways, to make an even more positive difference to: • People of all ages needing Continuing Care in Cheshire West. • People remaining at home and independent for as long as possible in Cheshire West . • People being discharged from hospital in the Wigan area. • The lives of adults with learning disabilities in the Halton area. A range of insights from participants has been gained from the programme so far: Recognising and taking ownership of how “ingrained” a lot of working practices are and being courageous to challenge the status quo when this isn’t getting the outcomes we want. In particular, when formal processes are becoming an obstacle and hindrance to the dialogue, communication and engagement we need from a wide range of colleagues.
The Change Consulting programme has been designed to support system teams to navigate challenging system issues.
Experimenting with how to facilitate and chair meetings in more inclusive and less formal ways, rather than sticking to rigid and formal meeting structures, just because “that’s the way we have always done it”. Experimenting with ways to achieve effective governance with a focus on the patient or citizen experience, rather than merely reporting on metrics. Using language which helps people have uncomfortable conversations in system settings rather than avoiding the conversations or limiting people’s ideas and input. Practical approaches to encouraging people to share their ideas and to contribute. Having more practical, interactive workshop-style meetings that are focused on making actual change happen and improving communication. Approaching group dynamics and interactions with a human-centric approach rather than a mechanistic or overly procedure-focused approach. We will continue to share the learning journeys through our website, so please stay connected. If you are interested in accessing the change consulting skills digital bitesize learning on the Leadership Learning Zone click here:
Sponsored by the NHS North West Leadership Academy (NHS NWLA), North West Employers (NWE) and the North West Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (NW ADASS). This is a new approach, designed to provide 4 North West cross-sector change teams with the opportunity to work together to solve the most challenging problems for their place and integrated care system. This program is focused on developing a consultative and relationship-based approach to navigating system challenges and fostering courageous system leaders. The pilot programme commenced in April 2024, delivered using a mix of online learning, virtual sessions and practical application, over a 6 month period. This covered: Influencing without Formal Authority: Learning how to find and use your power positively, with less reliance on hierarchy, and supporting others to do the same. Challenging the Status Quo: Learning practical strategies for speaking up with courage. Role modelling this for others, creating a climate where uncomfortable tensions can be constructively explored. Releasing the Potential of Human Systems: Learning why people behave as they do in organisations and systems, and how to release the positive potential of group dynamics to improve outcomes.
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